


nothing's quite as sweet as you

by teacupfulofbrains



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Background Analogical, Fluff, M/M, Soulmate AU, a gift for the queen of royality herself dani, it's somft and gay and they're in love, patton and roman stim together because i said so, patton owns a bakery and roman mans the front counter, soulmates create recipes together, stimmy sides, sunshine ship, they're gay and in love, virgil is patton's twin brother
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:07:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24294823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teacupfulofbrains/pseuds/teacupfulofbrains
Summary: in a world where soulmates exist, patton has waited his whole life to meet the person the universe has designated as his. he can't wait to make their soul recipe together and feed each other the first bite. but in the meantime, he'll settle for running his bakery and hoping.(OR: an absurdly fluffy royality soulmate!au)
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 15
Kudos: 169





	nothing's quite as sweet as you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tryingthymes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tryingthymes/gifts).



> for dani, the queen of all things royality  
> cw: mild angst mention

“Patton? Sweetheart, what are you doing?” 

Diana leans into the bathroom to see one of her five-year-old twins with his sleeves rolled up, soaking the front of his overalls as he tries to scrub his arm with a sopping wet washcloth. She quickly scoops him up, wringing the washcloth out and draping it over the side of the tub. 

“Did you get paint on you again, silly?” She lifts his arm to see what he’d been scrubbing at, revealing a red, rubbed-raw forearm with bright blue lettering on it. “I don’t understand, Patty-cake, did you spill something on your soulmark?” 

“I don’t _wanna_ soulmark anymore, Mama,” Patton pouts, trying to scratch at his arm. Diana quickly catches his hand in one of hers, confused.

“Why not, baby?”

“Vee doesn’ have one! He doesn’ have a soulmate, an’ I don’ wanna soulmate if he doesn’t have one!” Patton’s eyes are watering behind his big, round glasses, and Diana smiles softly. She brushes his curly bangs aside to kiss his forehead. 

“Why don’t you go and put on some dry clothes, baby, and then meet me, Virgil, and Mother in the living room, okay?” 

“Okay . . .” 

When Patton comes back, changed into a flowy skirt to accompany his Disney t-shirt, Diana has Virgil pulled onto her lap and Marie. Patton scrambles up onto the couch and pats Marie’s thighs. “Can I sit in your lap, Mother?” 

“Of course, darling.” She wraps her arms around his middle and hugs him close. “Your Mama tells me that you were trying to scrub your soulmark off in the bathroom today.” 

“I don’ wanna have a soulmate if Virge doesn’ have a soulmate! He’s my twin, we have to be the same!” 

Marie, too, begins to laughs. “Mother, you can’t laugh! Virge doesn’ have a _soulmate_!” Patton cries, clearly distressed. “So I can’t have one either, I don’t wan’ him to be alone!” 

“I am not laughing at you, my baby. You are admirable for wanting Virgil to not be alone. I am laughing because despite your admirable sentiments, you are mistaken. Virgil does have a soulmate.” 

“What?” 

Virgil pushes up his hoodie sleeve in confusion, looking at his forearms. “But I don’ have a mark . . .”

“I did not have a mark either, when I was born,” Marie tells him. “Your Mama did, but I did not. My arm was plain and bare, like yours is.” 

Patton pulls her arms away from his waist, flipping her left arm so that it’s palm-up. There’s a recipe written on her forearm, in soft pink script that complements his Mama’s lavender soulmark. “But you have a soulmark now, Mother! And you and Mama are soulmates, right?” 

“You are correct, little cake. Do you wonder why that is?” 

“Yes, Mother!” 

“In every soulmate pair - and it is different if there are more than two soulmates, but if there is a pair - there is one born marked and one born unmarked. When you touch your soulmate’s skin for the first time, the mark will glow, and the unmarked will receive their recipe.” 

“Think about it this way, Pat - if everyone was born with a soulmark, you’d have to hold your arm up to everyone you met to try and read and see if the recipe matched! That would take so long!” Diana says.

“Yeah . . . so Virgil has a soulmate?” 

“He does,” Marie tells them. “When you first approach your soulmate, there will be a smell that only the two of you can smell. It is the smell of your recipe! Once you have both halves of your recipe, you will make it together, and you will feed each other the first bite, and then you will be together forever.” 

Patton grins brightly at his twin. “We both get soulmates, Virge! I’m so happy! I woulda said no to my soulmate if you didn’t have one, but I think I still woulda been sad not to have one. But you’re my brother!” 

Virgil smiles back, a little more shy but no less bright. “Okay!”

* * *

“Have you found them yet?” Patton asks eagerly, bouncing next to his twin. Virgil is rummaging through his locker, which he’s somehow already managed to turn into a disaster. Patton’s locker, right next to his, is decorated with pictures of the two of them and their moms and puppies and all kinds of other things. 

“No, Patty, but it’s only the first day,” Virgil says softly, shoving a sketchbook into his backpack. “We have a lot of time to find them.”

“I know, but Mama and Mother met in high school, and wouldn’t it be so cool if we could find ours in high school too? I just wanna know who they are! I wanna hold their hand and give them kisses and make our recipe together and and and -”

“I know, Pat,” Virgil laughs, slamming his locker shut. “Come on, we’re gonna be late for our first ever art class.” 

Patton grins when he walks into the room, inhaling the scent of acrylic paint and glue and sharpies. He puts his messenger bag down on one of the stools, but when he turns to see Virgil, he realizes that his twin is standing in the doorway, frozen. He hurries over, sundress swishing around his knees. “Vee? Are you okay? What’s wrong?” 

Virgil’s eyes are saucer-wide, and his hands are gripping the straps of his backpack. “Pat, can - do you - can you smell that?” 

“The art room smell?” 

“No,” Virgil says, and there’s a tiny smile creeping onto his face. “It - it smells sweet, Pat. Can you smell that?” 

Patton breaks into a bright, sunshiney grin. “No, Vee, I sure as sugar cannot!” He bounces on his toes, sneakers squeaking against the linoleum. “You found your soulmate!” 

“I haven’t found them _yet_ , Patton, they could still be out in the hallway,” Virgil says, even though he’s still smiling. He follows Patton into the room, and as the rest of the class files in and the bell rings and the door closes behind the last girl, his eyes widen. Patton’s grin gets even wider.

“You still smell it, don’t you?” he whispers. Virgil nods, and Patton can barely stay sitting on the stool. The teacher hasn’t entered the classroom yet, so Patton eagerly sprints to the front of the room. “What are you doing?” Virgil hisses, gripping the table. Patton winks at him before knocking his fist on the chalkboard and getting everyone in the classroom to look at him. 

“May I have your attention please!” 

Virgil pulls his hood up and over his head in an attempt to hide his face, cheeks red, and Patton does feel a little bad about embarrassing his twin. At the same time, however, he knows Virgil, and he knows that he won’t say anything about his soulmate’s presence in the class. He _will_ , however, be super anxious about who they are and what they think of him until he meets them, and Patton’s always been the extrovert between the two of them. 

“My name’s Patton, and that’s my twin brother Virgil! Can anyone else in this class smell baked goods right now? Because he can!” 

“Patton, I swear to God, _stop talking_ ,” Virgil hisses. Patton rocks back and forth, grinning, as he scans back and forth among the people in the class. The silence stretches on for almost thirty seconds, but before either twin can become fully disheartened, someone stands up. 

“I, too, can perceive a distinctly saccharine aroma in the air,” he says quietly. Patton smiles, confused, before Virgil is standing up and carefully tugging his hood down, rearranging his mussed hair as he shuffles up to stand next to Patton. 

“He smells it too, Pat, he smells it _too_ he _smells it too oh my God_ ,” he mutters. 

The boy approaches them, wearing black pants and a black belt and a black polo shirt with a dark blue tie. He has black shoes and glasses with square black frames that look almost exactly like the ones Patton used to wear before he broke them. Patton’s eyes are immediately drawn to the flowing, midnight-blue script on his left forearm, and he hears his brother inhale sharply next to him. 

“Logan Delaney,” the boy says crisply, holding out his hand so that they can all see his soulmark. “It’s a pleasure.” He looks so serious, but when his eyes land on Virgil they soften a little. 

“V - Virgil Alexander,” Virgil stammers, rolling his sleeve up and reaching for Logan’s hand. “Likewise.” 

The second their hands make contact, Logan’s soulmark begins to glow. His eyes widen, and a look of almost childlike wonder crosses his face as a ribbon of bright blue light spirals around his arm and hand, turning purple as it winds around Virgil’s wrist. He gasps as the light begins to write across his arm, leaving shimmering lavender script across his forearm as his soulmark appears. 

“Hello, Virgil,” Logan says. He carefully turns his hand so that he’s not shaking Virgil’s hand anymore but holding it, studying the inside of his forearm as he scans over the recipe. “I know I have said this before, but it truly is a pleasure to meet you.” 

Virgil blinks in shock before curling his fingers around Logan’s, rubbing the back of his neck as he offers a soft, tentative smile. “It’s really good to meet you, too.”

* * *

Logan ends up accompanying them home that day, fingers laced with Virgil’s the whole time. Patton sits on the kitchen counter and teases his twin while he and Logan work together to make their recipe, thumbprint cookies featuring Logan’s favorite jam and Virgil’s favorite shortbread.

“It really is a perfect recipe for you two,” Patton sighs, reaching out to ruffle Virgil’s hair. “I can’t wait until I meet my soulmate! What do you think our recipe will be? Will it taste good? Oh, I can’t wait, I can’t _wait_ -” 

“I’m sure your soulmate will be perfect for you, Pat. They’ll be just as sappy as you, and I bet your recipe will be so sweet no one else could possibly eat it. You two will share one massive sweet tooth.” 

“You think so?” 

“Course, Pat. Who wouldn’t be thrilled to have _you_ as a soulmate?” 

Logan carefully breaks a cookie in half and offers it to Virgil. He smiles, slow and hesitant, and Virgil holds the cookie carefully. They lift the cookies up, reaching for each other; Logan takes a bite of Virgil’s half, and Virgil takes a bite of Logan’s half. When they open their eyes again, Logan reaches up and carefully brushes a crumb off Virgil’s face with his thumb, letting his hand cradle Virgil’s cheek. 

Patton carefully ducks into the living room so that they can kiss in private, happy chills running down his spine. He can’t _wait_ until he meets his soulmate.

* * *

**SEVERAL YEARS LATER**

* * *

Patton wheezes and coughs as a poof of flour rises up from the dough he’d unwisely punched. “I have _got_ to stop doing that,” he gags, thumping his chest repeatedly. The door swings open, and Roman sticks his head through in concern. 

“You alright, Pat?” 

“Yep!” Patton grabs for his water bottle and chugs down half of it in one go. “Just got a little side tracked by the _flour power_ , you know what I mean?” Roman blinks at him before laughing, sweeping his coppery curls off his forehead. Patton inhales and the air smells saccharine sweet and perfect - but then, it always smells like this here. He owns and works in a bakery, after all. Still, he allows himself a moment to stare dreamily at his front counter employee, wondering what it would be like if this smell meant something _more_ , if Roman were actually his soulmate. 

By the time Roman opens his eyes again, Patton has returned to kneading the brioche dough in front of him. “I know brioche sells well, but it’s _such_ a pain to make. It takes two whole days! It has to refrigerate overnight, and it’s stiff as a rock in the morning. I just don’t have the muscles for this.” 

“Not to brag or anything, but I do,” Roman says, casually curling one arm up and revealing a very obvious set of arm muscles. Patton is fairly sure he feels his soul leave his body and ascend to a new level of homosexuality. “If you wanted help, I -”

The bell above the door rings, and Roman grins. “Talk about this later?” 

Patton nods, and Roman heads back out into the bakery proper. Patton exhales, pulling his sleeve up to study the recipe written across his forearm. He thought he would have met his soulmate by now, but it seems the universe has other plans for him. He refuses to give up hope on his soulmate, but he does wish they’d hurry up a little and fall into his path. 

Roman pokes his head in again. “Patton, is the brioche done? The next group of soulmates is here.” Patton studies the bread dough in front of him, plops it back into a bowl, and covers it with saran wrap. 

“It’s not done, but it’ll keep a little longer while I teach the class.” He pushes the dough back into the freezer and dusts off the flour coating his hands. “Can you handle the shop while I’m working?” 

“I know where to find you if anything happens, but I think I got it!” 

Patton steps into the shop proper. His eyes scan across the happy customers lounging in the cafe portion of his shop; the small group of new soulmates clustered near the doors to the kitchen, all chattering nervously; the display case of pastries, stocked full enough that Roman will be okay while he’s teaching this class; Roman himself, lounging across the front counter and flirting with a girl about their age, hair died in a gradient of blue-pink-purple. 

He turns away and focuses on greeting the small group of soulmates waiting next to the doors of the communal kitchen. “Hello there! I take it you’re all here for the First Recipe class?” They nod, and Patton takes a moment to assess the group. Two young women, holding hands and blushing shyly; two young men, both fidgeting awkwardly as they offer one another fleeting glances and smiles; a rare soulmate throuple, a young woman sandwiched between two people who keep leaning in to make her giggle and blush. 

“Excellent! Did you all bring a printout of your complete assembled recipe, as the signups requested? It makes it easier in the long run to cook!” They hand over their recipes, and Patton scans them quickly. “Most of these are one-day things, so you shouldn’t need to wait for anything to set overnight! If plans change, though, we can always rearrange a schedule. Come right this way!” 

The communal kitchen is smaller than the industrial kitchen where Patton makes the bakery’s products. He’d designed it to be homier, more like walking into the sunlit kitchen of a small cottage than a large company. There are a few stations, wide enough for up to four people at a time, and a well-stocked refrigerator and pantry. The soulmates split themselves up around the kitchen; Patton passes out aprons and goes over a few basics about safety and where things are located before letting them free about the kitchen. 

There are a few near mishaps; it’s clear some of them have never worked with a gas stove before, the knives are incredibly sharp, and some of the recipes call for more advanced techniques. Still, by the end of it, there are three completed recipes on the counters: one no-bake cheesecake, one batch of pâte à choux profiteroles, and one batch of orange-blueberry scones. 

“Good job!” Patton grins. He watches the soulmates feed each other their dishes, laughing when one of the throuple soulmates dabs a bit of profiterole cream filling onto her partner’s nose and kisses it off while they blush and stammer. Once they’ve all completed their first bites, they share their recipes with each other and Patton. 

“You all did a great job! I’m so proud of you, these taste amazing!” 

He grins and pops a profiterole into his mouth. The sweet taste is almost enough to cover up the way his heart twinges watching all these happy young people with their soulmates.

* * *

“Patton, _look out_!” 

Patton twists around to see Roman rushing towards him, but he’s not fast enough to stop Patton’s foot from sliding on the coffee spill. He pitches backwards, windmilling frantically in an attempt to keep himself upright, and then - 

Suddenly, an arm curls around his waist, a hand grabs his hand, and Roman is dipping him right above the ground. Patton’s eyes are wide; he’s never been this close to Roman before, and he’s never notices the little flecks of yellow and gold scattered in Roman’s eyes, and his arms come up to loop around Roman’s neck. 

Electricity sparks through Patton’s whole body. Judging by the way Roman’s eyes blow wide as saucers, he feels it too. Patton doesn’t want to stop looking at Roman as he pulls him up to his feet, carefully sliding his hands down Roman’s arms to hold his hands. His arm begins to glow brightly - his _soulmark_ begins to glow brightly. Ribbons of blue light spiral around Roman, who gasps as flowing, elegant red script appears on his forearm. 

“It’s you?” Patton whispers. 

“It’s you,” Roman laughs. He pulls Patton into the back, into the kitchen, and before Patton can speak Roman’s pulled him into his arms and pushed his face into Patton’s hair. “Oh, thank all the Fates, it’s you, it’s _you_!” 

“You . . . you wanted it to be me?” 

“I did. I thought it was _you_ who didn’t want it to be _me_ because you didn’t react when you smelled the sweet smell in the air. I was so excited because I thought it was you, and then you didn’t -” 

“That - wh -” Patton blinks. “The sweet smell around you was because we’re _soulmates_?” 

“You didn’t realize?” 

“We work in a _bakery_ , Roman! I’m a _baker_! Everything smells sweet all the time!” Roman laughs, leaning in to press his forehead against Patton’s. “But - but I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you _so bad_ , Roman, every time I looked at you I could barely control how I felt but I didn’t think we could be -”

“I know, but we are. Think about it, Pat!” Before Patton can gather the courage to kiss him, the bell over the door rings. Roman sighs softly. “I should go handle that.” 

“Do - do you have anywhere you have to be tonight? After work?” 

“Nowhere except by your side.” Patton feels his entire face flaming up as Roman smirks and tucks Patton’s hair behind his ear. His mouth opens and closes as he tries to regain control of his voice.

“After we close down, we should go into the other kitchen and make our recipe together.” Patton’s heart swells like a balloon when he says “our recipe,” grinning like an idiot. Roman rocks back and forth on the balls of his feet, grinning happily, and Patton pulls one hand away from Roman’s chest to flap it in joy. 

“Absolutely.” Before Patton can respond, Roman leans in and kisses his forehead before disappearing back into the front. Patton giggles to himself, spinning around in a quick circle and flapping his hands in joy. He stims gleefully to himself with his hands for almost ten minutes before he returns to the pastry he’s rolling out, rocking on his toes the entire time.

* * *

**pattoncake baker man:** VEE!!! u’ll nvr guess what just happened!!!!

**pattoncake baker man:** i found my soulmate!!!! 

**pattoncake baker man:** it’s roman!!! i can’t believe i never noticed the smell!!! 

**shadow man:** pat 

**shadow man:** pat i love you but like

**shadow man:** you work in a GOD DAMN BAKERY

**shadow man:** tf did you expect???

**shadow man:** (but srsly, i’m happy for you bro <3)

* * *

Roman tilts his head, frowning at the page as Patton finishes writing down their recipe. “What . . . is it? What does our recipe make?” Patton scans through the steps, putting the pieces together in his mind and trying to assemble a complete puzzle. 

“It looks like it’s some kind of custard tart. Shortcrust pastry, chocolate and cinnamon custard filling, grated chocolate on top . . . it sounds amazing.” 

“You’re the baker here, so you’ll have to take the lead. I’m . . . not great at this kinda stuff.” Roman rubs the back of his neck. Patton reaches up and gently takes Roman’s hand, rubbing his thumb back and forth in a soothing stim. 

“Hey. Is that negative self-talk I hear, mister? None of that! You think everyone in the world is a great baker when they make their soulmate recipe? No! All that matters is that we make it together.” Roman looks up, smiling, and Patton gathers all of his courage to lean forward and smooch Roman’s cheek. Roman gasps, rearing back, and for a split second Patton thinks he’s moved too fast. 

Roman lurches forward, just as quickly, and then back and forth and _oh goodness he’s full-on_ rocking _and Patton must have made him_ so happy! Patton bounces up and down, rapidly flapping his own hands, and for a moment they just stim together in the kitchen. 

It’s another five minutes before they actually start making the recipe, but neither of them mind too much.

* * *

Patton’s never worked with Roman in the kitchen before, but they flow together perfectly. They assemble the shortcrust together, and Roman puts his arm muscles to work kneading the pastry. Patton lets himself openly stare at the way Roman’s arms flex and bulge, reaching out and patting them with a high-pitched giggle. 

“Am I doing it wrong?”

“Nope! Your arms are just . . . _really_ nice.” Roman blushes before lifting one arm and deliberately flexing. Patton _squeals_ and turns his attention back to the custard. They blind-bake the pastry, fill it with custard, and carefully grate chocolate while the tart bakes. It comes out shiny and glossy and perfect, and Patton carefully lays a paper stencil over the top of the custard tart while Roman shakes the grated white chocolate over it to from a swirling pattern. 

“It looks beautiful,” Roman says. “But you look more beautiful.” Patton flaps a little in joy as Roman carefully picks up the kitchen knife and cuts a slice out of the tart. He hands Patton a fork and takes one himself, scooping up a piece. 

“It cuts beautifully, too.” Patton looks at Roman, heart swelling, and offers him the forkful of tart. Roman does the same; Patton closes his eyes and opens his mouth. The tart hits his tongue and he gasps as chocolate and spice and silky-smooth custard bloom across his tongue. Roman makes a muffled, pleasured noise. 

“It’s so good!” he gasps. Patton swallows his mouthful of chocolate and looks at Roman. “It’s sweet and spicy and smooth and - and I - Patton, it’s _wonderful_.”

“You’re wonderful.” Roman’s fork clatters to the counter as he reaches forward and cups Patton’s cheeks, pulling him in and pressing their mouths together. Patton squeaks and gasps and melts into Roman’s arms, hugging him tightly. Roman tastes like the custard they just ate, but he also tastes like sunshine and light and warmth. Patton’s been baking since he was small, but nothing tastes quite as sweet as Roman. 

**Author's Note:**

> "pattoncake baker man" is patton and "shadow man" is virgil  
> come scream at me on tumblr! // [@teacupfulofstarshine](https://teacupfulofstarshine.tumblr.com)


End file.
